Monogramming and embroidering machines



W. F. HlRK Oct. 9, 1962 MONOGRAMMING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March l, 1960 W. F. HIRK Oct. 9, 1962 MONOGRAMMING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES Filed March l, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 M. GQ

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W. F. HIRK Oct. 9, 1962 MONOGRAMMING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March l, 1960 INVENToR. Mam/V f /KK Oct. 9, 1962 w. F. HIRK MONOGRAMMING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March l, 1960 l N V EN TOR. Mum/f E //RK United States Patent Office 3,057,310 Patented Oct. 9, 1962 3,057,310 MUNOGSAh/IMIIIG AN@ EMBRIDERING MACHINES William F. Hirk, 121 Sunset Ave., La Grange, Ill. Filed Mar. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 12,131 4 Ciaims. (Cl. 112--78) My invention relates to improvements in monogramming or embroidering machines.

My invention relates more particularly to improved machines especially adapted to embroidering names, initials or monograms on various types of fabrics.

While machines of this type have been used in the past for embroidering purposes, some of the work has been far from satisfactory. The size of letters, designs or other work is limited, and in creating a design which has wide and narrow portions, the threads may be unduly tight in spots and loose in others so that a sloppy and uneven or rough appearance is produced. Additionally, time must be spent in making changes and adjusting tensions and great difficulties are encountered when attempting to change from thin fabrics such as silk or nylon to heavier cloth such as coarse wool, terry cloth or knitted material.

The principal object of the present invention is to pro-4 vide an improved machine for embroidering or making monograms.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved construction of machine which, with a slight knee action by the operator, controls the amount of thread to be drawn from the bobbin to embroider monograms, emblems, names and artistic designs on any fabric or synthetic material including cotton, linen, silk, wool, terry cloth, cashmere, Dacron, nylon, Orlon and other fabrics.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the type described which produces embroidery that simulates fine hand-like appearance, the embroidery being raised as if filled, but containing no filler, and which can easily be removed if desired. Silk or cotton thread may be employed with equally excellent results.

A further object of my invention is to provide a monogram machine which can work very fast, completing small monograms in approximately thirty seconds, and not requiring more than four or five minutes for comparatively large monograms, thereby enabling operators to complete two to three times as much Work as with other machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide an embroidering machine attachment for effecting a controlled bobbin thread, automatically regulating the amount of thread for the particular job to be done.

Other objects and advantages of my construction and operation will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front perspective view of one type of machine embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional View thereof taken on the line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the head of the machine with parts broken to foreshorten the same;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the working parts of my improved machine, showing their relation to each other;

FIG. 4a is a schematic illustration showing relative position of various parts for short length thread draw-off;

FIG. 4b is the same but showing the relative position of said parts for a long thread draw-off;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken generally on the line 5 5 of FIG. l;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective View of the hook driver and measuring spring;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the same;

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of the rotating hook which is driven by the hook driver;

FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of a thread bobbin case;

FIG. l0 is a side perspective View of the movable pressure plate which cooperates with the spring arm on the hook driver; and

FIG. 1l is a fragmentary plan View of a piece of cloth held in embroidery hoops, illustrating work done by my improved mechanism.

In the embodiment of the invention which I have chosen to illustrate and describe the same, I have taken a Singer embroidering machine and have modied the same to provide for the new construction and operation. Thus in FIG. 1 I have shown a Singer Mfg. Co. Model No. 17 W l2 Monogram Machine head 10 having the table 12 and a rectangularly shaped work holding plate 14 attached to the table and having a rectangular opening 16 through which a needle 18 may reciprocate in an up and down movement as well as in a horizontal movement when a wider stitch is being made. Another rectangular opening 17 permits access to the bobbin case.

The machine may have the usual y-wheel 20 mounted on a `shaft (not shown) which has a pulley thereon that is connected by an endless belt 22 to a pulley 24 on a driven shaft 26, as best seen in FIG. 3. The shaft 26 may be journaled in a boss 28 extending down from the lower side of a base 10a having a collar 30 keyed thereto at one side and a disc member 32 keyed thereto beyond the boss 28, the disc having a pin 34 adjacent its outer edge in driving connection with an arm 36 pinned to the end of a stub shaft 38 that extends through a boss 40 on the bottom of the base 10a, the shaft 38 having a bevelled gear 42 pinned to the end of the same beyond the boss 40. A drive from the bevelled gear 42 to a bevelled gear 44 keyed to a hook driver shaft 46 is obtained through an idler gear 48 mounted on a set screw 50 that is fastened on a boss 52 of a support bracket 54. The bracket 54 is fastened to the bottom of the base 10a by screw members 55.

The hook driver shaft 46 may be journaled in a bearing 56 at one end and extend through the gear 44 and have a portion journaled in a downwardly depending bracket 58 adjacent the bobbin thread feed assembly. The bobbin thread feed assembly is mounted in a housing 60 that is fastened to the support bracket 58. The housing 60 as best -seen in FIG. 2 has a downwardly extending portion 62 to receive a cross-pin 64 upon which a hook bracket bobbin case stop 66 is hingedly mounted. The stop 66 is normally held in position by a springpressed notched dog member 68 which has a finger portion that can be pressed down to permit swinging of the bracket through an 180 arc. The bobbin case holding bracket has a forked upper end 66a which engages about the struck-up finger 70 on the bobbin case 72 which, as is well known in the art, is mounted on a center pin 74 of a rotating hook member 76, as best seen in FIGS. 5, 8 and 9.

In the construction of the invention shown herein, the hook 76 is driven in a rotative movement by a hook driver 80 on one end of the hook driver shaft 46, the hook driver having a peripheral edge portion 82 which normally engages a shoulder 76a of the rotative hook beyond a hook point 7617. A take off means in the form of a bobbin thread Control spring arm automatically delivers the proper amount of bobbin thread Tb desired, then the thread from the bobbin in the bobbin case 72 is thus carried upward and is looped around the upper thread T from a spool on the machine 10.

It will be noted that the .spring arm 90 is tensioned so that it will spring outwardly in an axial line from the shaft 46 or hook driver 88, and the dist-ance that the spring arm is extended beyond the planar face of the hook driver 80 will determine the amount of thread that will be drawn from the bobbin spool in the `bobbin case 772. Thus, for example, when the monogram letter 120 on the cloth C of FIG. ll is being made in the wide portion of the letter, more thread will be fed from the bobbin case 72 than would be fed in the narrow portion.

The spring arm @il is thus moved back or forth from a planar line with the edge of the hook driver to a distance beyond by its spring tension against a pressure plate 122. The pressure plate 122 is capable of outward movement from the bobbin case by means of a reciprocally mounted lever 124 which has a ledge 126 to receive an offset shoulder 128 at the upper end of the pressure plate 122. The plate 122 may have a circular medial opening 129 therein to permit introduction or removal of the bobbin case holding bracket 66 when it is desired to remove and replace the bobbin thread in the bobbin case 72.

The lever 124 is slidably held against the lower face b of the base 10a of the machine by a pivotally mounted shoe 130 which embraces the outer end of the same, the shoe being mounted at the end of an arm 134 which is held for adjustment in a boss 136 on the underside of the base 10a. The opposite end of the slidably mounted arm l124 is pivotally connected to a pin 138 carried by a short arm 140 keyed near one end to a horizontal shaft 142 Vmounted in suitable bearing brackets 144 and 146 adjacent the two ends of the base 10a. The shaft 142 is rotated to rock the sliding arm 124 by operation of the users knee, the knee normally pushing outwardly against a pad 180 when a wider stitch in the monogram is desired, the pad engaging one end of a ball crank lever 182 and the opposite end of the lever having a pad 184 which engages the lower end of a rod 186.

The upper end of the rod 186 is pivotally connected to one end of a needle bar frame regulator slide link lever 188 pivoted at 200 on top of the head`10'. The lever 188 has a slide link 202 connected to its opposite end engaging a link 204, the pivot of the same being mounted for oscillation in a needle bar frame regulator 206. The opposite end of link 2414 may Ibe connected to a needle -bar frame 208 which is pivotally mounted to rock back and forth, as shown by the arrows at 209. The frame 208 supports a needle bar 210 for vertical reciprocation, the same being driven from a rotating cam 212 through a drive 214 in the usual manner of machines of this type. The needle ibar carries the needle 18 and movement of the needle bar frame and bar will move the needle through the arc 209 as shown.

All of the mechanism shown in FIG. 4 is found in the Singer Sewing Machine No. 17 W 12, except the action of the slidably mounted arm 124 and the motivation of ythe same through link 220 connected to the needle bar frame regulator slide link lever 188 and extending downwardly therefrom to actuate the arm 124 in a back and forth movement to automatically proportion the proper amount of thread from the bobbin case in relation to the Width of embroidery desired, as shown by the arrows 210e. The link 220 which extends down from lever 188 connects to a rocker arm 222 connected to the end of a shaft 224. The shaft 224 is connected at its end to an arm 226' having a link 228 between one end of the same and an arm 230 rigidly fastened to a flange 232 extending to one side of the rocker shaft 142.

With the construction asy thus shown and particularly in the phantom View, FIG. 4, when the machine is operating and the needle bar 210 and needle -18 are moving up and down only with no Zig-zag action, the stitches formed will be comparatively narrow, as a hair-line, and will continue thus until pressure is placed on the rod 186 to pivot the lever 188. When this lever is pivoted through the slide link 202 and link 204, the needle bar frame 208 is swung about its pivot depending upon the Width of the stitch desired, and thread from the spool 108 will be fed through its tension member and other parts to the needle to provide the lock-stitch characteristic of the machine. At the same time, through the linkage 22), 228 and rocker arm 142, the pressure plate 122 will be moved away from the bobbin casing, permitting the bobbin thread regulator spring arm to move out against the face of the plate 122, requiring the thread from the bobbin to pass beyond the spring arm, thus increasing the amount of thread being taken from the bobbin for the wider stitch desired.

With this construction, by simply adjusting the bobbin case spring adjusting screw to the proper tension for small or larger monograms or embroidery, the beautiful appearance of the stitch is automatically uniformly controlled. By eliminating the filling usually required to give a handlike appearance, the embroidery is not only completed much faster, but will last longer and look better longer than monograms done by other methods. Thus, em- -broidering or monogramming from a ne hair-line raised stitch, such as used in name writing, to a wide raised stitch can lbe done without complicated tension adjustments to the thread.

It should be borne in mind that when monogramming is done, the cloth C is placed between a pair of embroidery hoops H, as shown in FIG. ll, to draw the cloth taut, thus obviating the necessity of the use of a pressure foot or other elements in the machine, and preventing puckering of the cloth.

While I have illustrated and described a specc embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown and I do not wish to be limited in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect -by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a machine for sewing monograms upon a piece of material which machine includes a vertically reciproca-ble needle movable in an arc, means to vary the arc of the needle to regulate the width of the monogram being sewn, and a revolvable bobbin from which thread may be drawn to form a lock stitch with a thread carried through the material by the needle, an improvement comprising takeoff means operable to regulate the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution thereof, and means to coordinate the operation of said take-off means with the degree of arcuate travel of the needle so that the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution is proportional to the arcuate travel of the needle.

2. In a machine for sewing monograms upon -a piece of material which machine includes a vertically reciprocable needle movable in an arc, means to vary the arc of the needle to regulate the width of the monogram being sewn, and a revolvable bobbin from which thread may be drawn to form a lock stitch with a thread carried through the material by the needle, an improvement comprising takeoff means including an adjustable spring arm which is operatively positionable to regulate the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution thereof, and means to coordinate the operation of said take-off means with the degree of arcuate travel of the needle so that the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution is proportional to the arcuate travel of the needle.

3. In a machine for sewing monograms upon a piece of material which machine includes a vertically reciprocable needle movable in an arc, control means to vary the arc of the needle to regulate the width of the monogram Ibeing sewn, and a revolvable bobbin from which thread may be drawn to form a lock stitch with a thread carried through the material by the needle, an improvement comprising take-off means including an adjustable spring arm which is operatively positionable to regulate the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution thereof, and means associated with the control means to coordinate operation of said take-o means with the degree of arcuate travel of the needle so that the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin at each revolution is proportional to the arcuate travel of the needle.

4. In a machine for sewing monograms upon a piece of material which machine includes a vertically reciprocable needle movable in an arc, control means including a knee operable lever adapted to vary the arc of the needle to regulate the Width of the monogram being sewn, and a revolvable bobbin `from which thread may be drawn to form a lock stitch with a thread carried through the material by the needle, an improvement comprising takeoi means including an adjustable spring arm which is positionable for drawing a given amount of thread from the bobbin at leach revolution thereof, a plate means movable for regulating the position of said arm to vary the amount of thread drawn from the bobbin, and means for coordinating the movement of the plate means with the knee operable lever so that the amount of thread drawn oil the bobbin at each revolution will tbe proportional to the arcuate position of the needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,135,959 Myers April 13, 1915 2,438,833 Wood Mar. 30, 1948 2,690,723 Sudo Oct. 5, 1954 

